Assurant announces leadership appointments
Assurant announced that Manny Becerra has been appointed to the newly created role of chief innovation officer. Becerra will continue reporting to Keith W. Demmings, who was recently appointed President of Assurant and has been named to succeed Alan Colberg as the company’s CEO in January 2022. Biju Nair, who joined Assurant through its recent acquisition of HYLA Mobile, where he was CEO, will succeed Becerra as president of the company’s global Connected Living business.
“Assurant has a long-standing track record of bringing innovative solutions to better serve the evolving needs of our clients and consumers globally. Today’s appointment of Manny to lead innovation further underscores our commitment to advancing our growth, by creating market-leading innovations around our ‘Connected World’ businesses through the development of new products and alternative distribution channels . This appointment also recognizes Manny’s continued contributions to the solid growth we’ve seen across the business globally. His innate ability to develop products and capabilities that service our clients, coupled with his dedication to ongoing research and insights to promote continuous innovation that support an enhanced customer experience, makes him the best person to lead our innovation agenda for the future.” – Keith Demmings.
Biju Nair has been named to succeed Becerra in his role as president of Assurant’s global Connected Living business, comprising the mobile, retail and connected product and service offerings and several of Assurant’s most valuable client partnerships. Nair most recently served as CEO of HYLA Mobile, a venture capital-backed company that Assurant acquired in December 2020. HYLA Mobile focuses on developing technologies to repurpose pre-owned mobile devices, providing both economic and environmental benefits.
Jeff Unterreiner, US president of Connected Living at Assurant, expands his role taking on oversight of all Connected Living clients and will now report to Nair. Scott Wagner, who co-founded HYLA Mobile, will be elevated to lead Assurant’s mobile trade-in and upgrade business, succeeding Nair.
